Carpet shampoo brush



Feb. 26, 1963 M. w. HELM CARPET SHAMPOO BRUSH Filed Dec. 1, 1959 F ig./

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United States Patent Oiilice 3,078,488 Patented Feb. 2e, 1963 3,078,483CARPET SHAB/i190@ BRUSH Mark W. Helm, Canton, hio, assigner to TheHoover Company, Canton, Ohio, a corporation of @hic Filed Dec. 1, 1959,Ser. No. 856,544 15 Claims. (C1. 15-1d) The present invention relates torug and carpet scrubbers and more particularly to a rotary brush forattachment to a modied vertical axis two brush floor polisher ravingmeans for dispensing a detergent solution to the brushes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary annular brushbody having at least one row of brush bristles or other flexible pilecontacting elements with the upper ends thereof secured in a downwardlyfacing recess in the body to permit lateral flexing thereof, with asurface contacting support centrally on one or both sides of the recesswith its supporting surface slightly above the ends of the surfacecontacting elements to limit llexing thereof. Preferably an annulardetergent receiving recess is formed in the body above the support withdetergent dispensing openings in the bottom wall of the recessdischarging detergent onto the carpet.

Specifically, according to the present invention, the upper ends of thebristles are secured to an annulus of thermoplastic material detachablyreceived in a downwardly facing annular recess formed in an annularbrush body of plastic material such as a phenolic compound adjacent toits periphery.

The bristles extend below the brush body and the downwardly facingrecess is so formed that the bristles have lateral freedom for flexingmovement during use.

lnter-iorly of the bristles the body is formed with an annular supportwith its supporting surface positioned slightly above the lower ends ofthe bristles so that when pressure is applied the supporting surfacewill limit movement of the bristles into the nap of a rug or carpet. Thesupport is also formed to limit the inward liexing of the bristles.

Centrally and inwardly of the annular support the body is formed with athrough opening, the walls of which are provided with means fordetachabtly and drivingly connecting the brush to a vertical axis rotaryshaft of a floor polisher. The lower end of the through opening isclosed by a metallic plate which supplements the supporting action ofthe annular support.

In its upper side between the wall forming the central -through openingand inner wall of the downwardly facing recess, the body is formed withan annular detergent receiving recess having an annular row of detergentdispensing openings formed in the outer perimeter of its lower wallwhich is formed by the annular support.

If desired the outer wall of the detergent receiving recess may betapered inwardly lto prevent detergent from climbing upwardly due tocentrifugal action. The taper may be formed integrally with the outerwall of the detergent receiving recess but for better molding practiceit is preferably made as a separate annular tapered ring.

The bristle supporting ring may be so made as to be frictionally held inthe downwardly facing recess but preferably dimples are formed on theouter edge of the bristle supporting ring which engage over shouldersformed in the outer wall of the downwardly facing recess. ln either caseknocloout openings are formed in the upper and outer walls of thedownwardly facing recess. When dimples are provided the lower edge ofthe knock-out openings may form the shoulders which are engaged by thedimples.

The bristle supporting ring is also provided with driving lugs whichinteriit with recesses formed in the outer wall of the downwardly facingrecess.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a top view of the shampoo brush according to the invention;and

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken through the center of the brushand one of the knock-out openings.

Referring to the drawings the reference numeral 10 generally representsthe brush body and 11 generally represents the removable bristleassembly.

The brush body 10 may be made of any suitable plastic material such as aphenolic compound which is rigid enough for the purpose and is easilymoldable to the desired shape. The body 1li is annular in shape and isformed with a downwardly facing bristle receiving recess 12 adjacent toits periphery which is formed by an outer annular wall 13, an innerannular wall 14 and a top wall 15.

Inwardly of the wal-l 14 is an annular support 16 which also forms thebottom wall of an annular detergent receiving recess 17 formed in theupper side of the body 10.

Centrally the body 1lb is formed with a through opening 18., the annularwall 19 of which also forms the inner wall of detergent recess 17.lnteriorly the opening is formed with a driving connection 20 of anysuitable character for .drivingly connecting the body 10 to a verticalaxis drive shaft of a floor polisher.

At the corner between the annular support 16 and the annular wall 14,the support 16 is provided with an annular row of detergent dispensingopenings 21 which connect the detergent recess 17 to the space beneaththe support 16 for a purpose which will presently appear.

The outer wall 14 of detergent recess 17 may be tapered inwardly towardthe top to prevent detergent from being thrown out by centrifugalacti-on. However, such a construction would be diilcult to mold and forthat reason a separate tapered annulus 22 may be provided for the samepurpose.

In claiming that feature it is to be understood that the annulus 22 isto be considered as a part of wall 14 whether it be integral therewithor not.

The outer wall 13 and the top wall 1S of recess 12 are formed with aplurality of cut-outs 23 which form shoulders 24 for a purpose whichwill later appear.

'Ihe outer wall 13 of recess 12 is formed with an offset 25, in which isformed a plurality of drive recesses 26 which form a part of a drivingconnection between the body 10 and the brush assembly as will laterappear.

The bristle assembly 11 includes an annular ring 27 of suitablethermoplastic material having the necessary strength and into whichstaples may be driven. The ring 27 is of a suitable outside diameterthat it will frictionally engage the inner periphery of wall 13 so as tobe held in place by friction alone or dimples 23 may be provided forengaging over shoulders 24 as shown in FIG. 2. The ring 27 is ofsufficient resiliency that pressure may be applied to it at the cut-outs23 to remove the dimples 2S from the shoulders 24 and thus release thebrush assembly from the brush recess 12.

A plurality of bristle receiving openings 29 are formed in the ring 27and into each of which are stapled bristle tufts 30 to form an annularrow of bristles. The tufts 3d are of sufficient length to extend belowthe annular support 16 so as to support the brush when no pressure isapplied. The recess 12 is wide enough to permit lateral flexing of thetufts 30 when the device is in use, the amplitude of the exing beinglimited by the lower edge of wall 13 and the outer perimeter of thesupport 16.

Drive lugs 31 are formed on the outer periphery of ring 27 and coactwith the drive recesses 26 to positively rotate the bristle assembly 11with the body 10.

aoc/ease A metallic closure plate 32 closes the lower end of centralopening ll and aids the annular support lo in its supporting function aswill appear.

rl`he lugs 33 are primarily for molding purposes but also will cause thedetergent in recess i7 to rotate with the body 1d and thus help guide itto the dispensing openings 2l.

Operation Two of the assembled brushes as shown in FlG. 2 are drivinglyattached to the vertical axis rotary shafts of a iioor polisher havingmeans for delivering etergent solution to the recesses 17. The polisheris moved onto a piled fabric such as a rug or carpet, the polisherenergized to rotate the brushes through drive connections 2u anddetergent solution such as soapy water dispensed into the recess 17 ofeach of the brushes.

Rotation of the bodies lll will cause rotation of the brush assembliesll through drive recesses 26 and drive lugs 3l. The detergent in therecesses 17 will be thrown outwardly by centrifugal action aided by thelugs 33 and llow through the dispensing openings 2l onto the piledfabric beneath the supports 16 and within the perimeters f the annularrows of bristles.

As the brushes are rotated and the polisher moved about on the ends ofthe bristles, suds will be formed and the penetration of the ends of thebristles into the pile will thoroughly scrub and shampoo the rug orcarpet. The annular support i6, the lower edge of wall 13 and theclosure plate 32 will prevent the ends of the bristles from penetratingtoo deeply into the pile so that the polisher will be more easilymanipulatable. As the polisl'ier is moved back and forth across thefloor the bristles being long and flexible will flex back and forth andthus do a better cleansing operation.

The outer annular wall 13 is not absolutely essential but it doesprevent detergent from being thrown outwardly to some extent, helps tosupport the polisher and forms a limiting stop for the outward flexureof the bristles 30. The inner wall 14 forms a limiting stop for theinward iiexure of the bristles.

As the bristles are iiexed about the lower edges of walls 13 and i4 theybecome in effect short bristles and perform a better scrubbing operationthan would otherwise be the case.

While I have shown and described a single embodiment of my invention, itis to be understood that that embodiment is to be taken as illustrativeonly and not in a limiting sense. l do not wish to be limited to theparticular structure shown and described but wish to include allequivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of theclaims.

I claim:

1. A shampoo brush comprising an integral molding of plastic material,said molding including an inner vertically extending annular wall havinga bore formed with means for the attachment of the brush to the driveshaft of a floor polisher, a second vertically extending annular wallspaced radially outward from said first annular wall, a bottom wallconnecting the bottom ends of said iirst and second annular walls andformed with openings extending therethrough adjacent the lower end ofsaid second annular wall, the space between said rst and second annularwalls forming an upwardly opening deep annular cavity for receivingdetergent solution for application to the floor being cleaned, a thirdvertically extending annular wall spaced radially outward from saidsecond annular wall, a top wall connecting the upper ends of said secondand third annular walls, the lower end of said third annular wall beingin alignment with the lower surface of said bottom wall, the spaceVbetween said second and third annular walls forming a downwardly openingannular recess adjacent the periphery of said molding and an annularbrush positioned in said annular recess, said brush including an annularring positioned in said annular recess against said top wall and anannular row of bristles secured to said ring and extending downwardly toslightly below the lower end of said third annular wall whereby thelatter and the lower surface of said bottom wall form a supportingsurface to take the greater portion of the load when the brush isapplied to a piled fabric.

2. A brush as in claim l in which 1itnock out openings are formed insaid top wall through which an instrument may be inserted to facilitateremoval of said brush from said annular recess.

3. A rotary scrub brush comprising an integral annular molding ofplastic material provided with means centrally thereof for attachment toa vertical axis rotary shaft of a door polisher, said molding includinga vertically extending peripheral annular wall, a second annular wallspa-ced radially inward from said peripheral annular wall, a top wallextending between the upper ends of said annular walls and a lower wallextending inwardly from the lower end of said second annular wall andhaving its lower surface in alignment with the lower rim of saidperipheral annular wall, the space between said annular walls forming adeep downwardly opening annular recess and an annular brush positionedin said annular recess, said brush including an annular supporting ringpositioned within said annular recess against said top wall and anannular row of long stiif bristles secured to said supporting ring andextending downwardly to slightly below the lower surface of said lowerwall, the body of said bristles being spaced from the walls of saidrecess to permit lateral ilexure of said bristles whereby said lowerwall will support the greater portion of the weight when the brush ispresented to a piled fabric.

4. A shampoo brush comprising, an annular rotary brush body forattachment to a vertical axis rotary shaft of a floor polisher, anannular row of comparatively long stiff brush bristles, means forsecuring the upper ends of said bristles to said body adjacent itsperipheral edge, said body being formed with an annular wall extendingdownwardly along and spaced inwardly of said annular row of bristles topermit radial iiexing of said bristles, a surface contacting supportformed on said body and extending inwardly from the lower end of saidannular wall within said annular row of bristles with its surfaceengaging face positioned slightly above the bottom ends of said bristlesto limit the radial inward flexing of said bristles, an annular liquidreceiving recess formed in said body above said support and liquiddispensing openings formed in the wall of said recess at its lower outerperiphery so as to discharge liquid inwardly of said bristles.

5. A shampoo brush according to claim 4 in which said bristle securingmeans is in the form of a ring of thermoplastic material to which theupper ends of said bristles are secured and an annular recess adjacentthe periphery of said body in which said ring is detachably secured.

6. A shampoo brush according to claim 5 in which said ring receivingrecess includes an annular wall spaced from and surrounding saidbristles and extending downwardly to a point adjacent the lower ends ofsaid bristles to limit their outward radial flexing movement.

7. A shampoo brush according to claim 5 in which the inner annular wallof said ring receiving recess also forms the outer wall of said liquidreceiving recess.

8. A shampoo brush according to claim 5 including dimples formed on theouter periphery of said ring and shoulders formed in the wall of saidring receiving recess against which said dimples abut for detachablysecuring said ring in said ring receiving recess.

9. A shampoo brush according to claim 8 including knock-out openingsformed in the uper wall of said ring receiving recess above saidshoulders so that said ring may be easily removed from said body.

l0. A shampoo brush according to claim 5 including drive recesses formedin a wall of said ring receiving recess in which drive lugs extendingfrom said ring are engaged for drivingly connecting said ring to saidbody.

1'1. A shampoo brush according to claim 4 in which the inner Wall ofsaid liquid receiving recess also forms an annular Wall for a throughopening in said body by which it may be secured to the rotary shaft of afloor polisher.

12. A shampoo brush according to claim 11 including a metal closureplate for the lower end of said through opening for supplementing thesupporting action of said support.

13. A shampoo brush according to claim 4 in which the outer wall of saiddetergent recess slopes inwardly toward the top of said body.

14. A shampoo brush according to claim 13 in which said inward slope isformed by an annular ring tapered in cross section in contact with theouter wall of said detergent receiving recess.

15. A shampoo brush comprising, an annular rotary body for attachment toa vertical axis rotary shaft of a oor polisher, an annular row ofcomparatively long sti bristles, means for securing the upper ends ofsaid bristles to said body adjacent its peripheral edge, sa-id bodybeing formed with an annular wall extending downwardly along and spacedinwardly of said annular row of bristles to allow a limited inwardlyradial flexing of said bristles while providing a means for preventing afurther inwardly radial flexing of said bristles, a surface contacting`support formed on said body and extending inwardly from the lower endof said annular wall within said annular row of bristles, the surfacecontacting area of said support being so large in relation to that ofthe lower ends of said bristles that said support allows a limitedpenetration of the lowerends of said bristles into said surface whileproviding a support for limiting a further penetration into saidsurface, an annular liquid receiving recess formed in said body abovesaid support and liquid dispensing openings formed in the wall of saidrecess adjacent its outer periphery so as to discharge liquid inwardlyof said bristles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSY1,206,031 Ritter et al Nov. 28, 1916 )1,371,249 Lampkin Mar. 15, 19211,433,964 Mills Oct. 31, 1922 1,606,821 Anderson Nov. 16, 1926 1,630,995Withycombe May 31, 1927 1,693,908 Marshall Dec. 4, 1928 2,039,356Smalley May 5, 1936 2,310,554 Seyfrued Feb. 9, 1943 2,633,595 BerberianApr. 7, 1953 2,967,314 Kowalewski Ian. 10, 1961 2,967,315 Helbig et al.Jan. 10, 1961

3. A ROTARY SCRUB BRUSH COMPRISING AN INTEGRAL ANNULAR MOLDING OFPLASTIC MATERIAL PROVIDED WITH MEANS CENTRALLY THEREOF FOR ATTACHMENT TOA VERTICAL AXIS ROTARY SHAFT OF A FLOOR POLISHER, SAID MOLDING INCLUDINGA VERTICALLY EXTENDING PERIPHERAL ANNULAR WALL, A SECOND ANNULAR WALLSPACED RADIALLY INWARD FROM SAID PERIPHERAL ANNULAR WALL, A TOP WALLEXTENDING BETWEEN THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID ANNULAR WALLS AND A LOWER WALLEXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE LOWER END OF SAID SECOND ANNULAR WALL ANDHAVING ITS LOWER SURFACE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE LOWER RIM OF SAIDPERIPHERAL ANNULAR WALL, THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID ANNULAR WALLS FORMING ADEEP DOWNWARDLY OPENING ANNULAR RECESS